July 21, 2008

Silent Thunder

Silent Thunder is billed as an “eco-thriller.”It does not disappoint.It is a novel written by the bestselling mother/son writing team of Iris and Roy Johansen.The novel follows the exploits of Hannah Bryson as she works to prepare a Russian nuclear submarine for use as a museum.What follows is an engrossing tale of intrigue as she and her brother discover a secret hidden in Silent Thunder.The secret is the cause of the intrigue which results in suspense, murder and mayhem.It is clear that Iris and Roy Johansen have done their homework in writing this novel.

Of importance to the environmental community and as relayed to me by Iris and Roy Johansen’s agent, to date, there are dozens of decaying Soviet, Cold War era submarines floating in open water with their nuclear reactors intact.These submarines present a very real, frightening and largely unknown environmental threat.According to environmentalist groups, these decaying vessels are capable of (and may in fact be) contaminating many water resources.The Russian government cannot afford to deactivate these vessels and are instead abandoning them in dangerous floating graveyards.This creates the possibility of a catastrophic environmental disaster.One wonders if the federal government has the same issues with the aging fleet of the United States.